Senior Catholic bishops have condemned the United Kingdom government’s announcement that it is reviewing the possibility of moving its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.
Newsroom (13/10/2022 1:48 PM Gaudium Press) — Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the Archbishop of Westminster, and the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, both recently issued statements calling on Prime Minister Liz Truss to abandon the policy review.
“Such a relocation of the UK Embassy would be seriously damaging to any possibility of lasting peace in the region and to the international reputation of the United Kingdom,” said Cardinal Nichols in a public statement on October 6.
Truss, who assumed office in September, previously signalled her openness to review the embassy’s location during her campaign for the leadership of the governing Conservative Party during the summer.
The UK prime minister confirmed the policy review in a meeting with her Israeli counterpart Yair Lapid during the United Nations General Assembly on September 22, after which Lapid thanked her publicly for “positively considering the move.”
Nichols subsequently said he had written to Truss, voicing “profound concern” over the potential move.
Saying he could not see any valid reason for such a move, the cardinal asked Truss to reconsider and instead invest in pursuing a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, in which Jerusalem has a secured special status.
“Pope Francis and the leaders of churches in the Holy Land have long called for the international Status Quo on Jerusalem to be upheld, in accordance with the relevant UN resolutions,” Nichols said. “The city must be shared as a common patrimony, never becoming an exclusive monopoly of any party.”
In an October 10 statement, the Council of the Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem also voiced “grave concern” over Truss’ call for a review of the embassy’s placement.
The council, which includes Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, said the move would send the wrong message to the world.
“As a city holy to the three Abrahamic Faiths representing more than half the world’s population, Jerusalem has long been recognized by the International Community, including the United Kingdom, as having a special status (Corpus Separatum), one aimed at safeguarding the freedom of religion, the sacred character of Jerusalem as a Holy City, and the respect for, and freedom of access to, its holy places,” the council said.
“Implicit to the recognition of this Status Quo is the aforementioned Corpus Separatum that most of the world’s governments have applied by refraining from locating their embassies in Jerusalem until a final status agreement on the Holy City has been reached.”
The religious leaders said that moving the UK embassy to Jerusalem would undermine efforts for peace, religious harmony, and political negotiations aimed at a two-state solution.
“Indeed, the very act of reviewing the placement of the British Embassy not only suggests that negotiated agreements regarding Jerusalem and the West Bank have already resolved the ongoing disputes between the involved parties—when in fact they have not—but also implies that no such negotiations are needed: that the continuing military occupation of those territories and the unilateral annexation of East Jerusalem are both acceptable.”
They called on the prime minister to focus diplomatic efforts on resuming negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority in pursuit of lasting peace.
– Raju Hasmukh with files from The Pillar
